The deal they are seeking — averaging $450 million over 10 years — would be a huge increase on the current $115 million-per-year deal the UFC has with Fox Sports, which ends in 2018.

UFC is looking for bids on a package that includes the rights to “four annual broadcast windows that Fox now holds, six annual cable events and weekly programming on Fox Sports 1, plus the UFC’s over-the-top Fight Pass service,” SBD wrote of the specifics.

Notably absent from the package is the UFC’s big money-maker: pay-per-view events. The UFC’s new owners, WME-IMG, would retain control of those events, but are expected to consult with their over-the-air TV partner on which fighters appear on which cards.

In the past, the UFC has reserved its biggest stars and biggest fights for huge PPV events, like the recent UFC 205. The record-setting spectacle staged at Madison Square Garden in November was headlined by Conor McGregor’s bout with Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight title, but the card featured two other title fights that helped it become the UFC’s largest ever PPV event. Though the UFC hasn’t released exact figures, Forbes reported they got approximately 1.7 million pay-per-view buys. The UFC charges $59.99 for each PPV event and stages roughly 12 per year.

Though the $4.5 billion the UFC is seeking for TV rights seems eye-popping, it pales in comparison with the deals the major American sports leagues have recently signed.

UFC’s asking price would dramatically outstrip what smaller sports rake in from American TV. For example, the NHL is in the middle of a 10-year deal with NBC Sports worth $2 billion; the same network paid $1 billion to broadcast England’s Premier League soccer through the 2021-2022 season.

UFC president Dana WhiteGetty Images

It is unclear what effect the new TV deal will have on the UFC or its fighters, but fans will see a change when the proposed new deal is inked, sources told the website. From its inception, the UFC paid for and controlled how all of its events are produced for TV. The arrangement allowed the UFC to create a uniform media brand that helped it grow into a $4 billion company.

With the new deal, production likely will be handed over to the TV partner. This means fights on over-the-air TV will not look or feel the same as the pay-per-view events, in much the same way that NFL games are produced differently on CBS, Fox, NBC, ESPN, and NFL Network.

Negotiations over the new deal are expected to take place next year, and Fox Sports has an exclusive window at the end of 2017 to try to hammer out a renewal.

Besides being the current rights holders, Fox Sports has another advantage in the upcoming negotiations: WME-IMG co-CEO Ari Emanuel worked as a consultant to help broker the 2011 deal between the network and the UFC.